My NARTREK Journey

I will be posting on this thread as I work my way through the NARTREK program in an effort to develop my own proficiency and share any lessons I learn on the way. My son whom I lovingly refer to as "Elfo", is also on this journey with me, having decided to work on the NARTREK Cadet program, starting with Mercury.

Our third set of hands is my wife, whom I will call "Mrs. Frizzle" for the purpose of this series. Let's see what works, what doesn't, and what we've learned. Follow Me and Elfo as we drag Mrs. Frizzle around (armed with a stop watch) to cheer us on our way to Gold and Sky Lab!

Today we intended on doing both duration flight requirements and having Elfo launch and recover his plastic fin and cardstock rockets. Unfortunately the tough recovery for our first two flights prevented us from doing more launches. We plan on going back out sometime next week to fulfill Elfo's requirements. Both of our launches today were made from the Estes Viking kits. I love these kits because you can customize the fin configuration in a lot of different ways.

Flight 1 was the Viking 1 (Black Body, Green Nosecone Tumbnail). This rocket was modified to take a 60cm crepe paper streamer and was assembled in a five fin configuration with the fins swooped back. The total flight duration for Viking 1 was 36.72 seconds on a B6-4 motor. This flight fulfilled the Bronze requirement but was not recovered due to crossing a property line we were unable to access.

Flight 2 was the Viking 2 (Green Body, Black Nosecone Tumbnail). This viking was also assembled in the 5 fin configuration but the stabilizer fins were forward swooping rather than rear swooping and was equipped with an Estes 9in parachute for recovery. The total flight duration was 65.15 seconds on a B6-2 engine, also fulfilling one of the bronze requirements. This rocket also drifted morethan anticipated and was unable to be recovered.

Lessons Learned: Although the 9-12 mph winds we faced were within safety parameters, recovery was challenging despite wind cocking. We will be changing our flight location to prevent further issues with drift and avoid flying in any winds until I am more proficient at wind cocking.

Elfo and I got our kits today to complete the requirements for my Bronze and his Mercury requirements. He will be doing the Estes Citation Patriot as his over 24" rocket, which is the last he'll need to build as he has already completed a Journey E2X and his own Viking model. I got the Estes Magician to fulfill my D motor flight requirement and the Silver Streak to complete my two stage requirement. It has been windy as heck here which is typical for this time of year so we're not sure when we'll be able to launch.... Stay tuned for picks of the builds!

CochiseSciGuy said:

has been windy as heck here which is typical for this time of year so we're not sure when we'll be able to launch....

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Smart! The magician is deceptively slick and will get up there on a D. Near 1/4 mile on an E

Nytrunner said:

Smart! The magician is deceptively slick and will get up there on a D. Near 1/4 mile on an E

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I will be doing some payload work with my STEM club kids in the future too so I was a sucker for a D/ E kit rocket with that clear section.

Been a long week at work and haven't felt quite well all week. Despite this, Elfo and I got some building done tonight as the other kids were at various activities and mom was out of town!

First, we painted his Estes Viking he assembled earlier in the week. Next, we got cracking on his Estes Citation Patriot. He had a little trouble getting the fins to stick with wood glue but patience won out and he was able to get everything put together. Tomorrow he's planning on adding the launch lugs and giving her a quick paint job. Fingers crossed, he's hoping to complete his Mercury this weekend if the wind holds off.

On the other hand, I have been working as chauffeur and full-time kid wrangler tonight while mom is out so I haven't made much head way on my own kits. Might be another week or so before I finish my own packet. Oh the beauties of a self paced program!

This is great! My 11 yo son, 13 yo daughter, and I are all three on the same journey. Still in the build phase. We are hoping to knock out both Bronze and Cadet levels at the next launch here, June 16th. It should be a fun day as it is also the Apollo 11 anniversary launch for our local club. I look forward to reading more about your adventure!